Bayreuth

28 May 2014

Opera-going can be bad for your health. Especially if the composer is Richard Wagner and the opera is five hours long. "Prolonged sitting inhibits venous function, blood pools in the legs and they can swell. Also, the risk of thrombosis may increase, as in a long-haul flight"

18 May 2014

Yesterday's Bayreuth Festival free Open Day - only the second in the festival's history - attracted over 4,000 visitors from all over Germany and beyond.

Amongst the rehearsals and make-up demos, the most popular attraction by far turned out to be the rats from Lohengrin. Four brave souls donned the masks and rubber costumes for the whole afternoon, during which they were photographed "200 to 300 times" said a weary rodent. Visitors were invited to touch the neoprene costumes with their rubber feet and tails - "through our grid masks we could see many happy faces".

Festival spokesman Peter Emmerich said they were pleased with the day's success, and would look at repeating it next year.

31 March 2014

A lot of Bayreuth-going readers have expressed an interest in getting together during the Festival.

If you're one of them, please could you comment below on which date(s) would suit you and what sort of event you'd prefer - for example would you prefer a group meetup, or individual get-togethers? Any other bright ideas welcome.

I will review the responses and put together a concrete meetup(s) suggestion closer to the date.

(If you're reading this as an email, then it would help me if you could please respond by blog comment, not email.)

29 March 2014

A few readers who are going to Bayreuth for the first time have emailed me to ask for advice, so here it is. My #1 tip for those who have tickets is - don't wait, book your accommodation now. Read on to find out why.

19 March 2014

The Festpielhaus in Bayreuth has spent endless months shrouded in tarpaulins while the powers that be knocked around the thorny issue of renovation financing.

Now the final obstacle has been removed. This morning, an agreement was signed to lease the Festspielhaus to the Bayreuth Festival (BF) GmbH, thus eliminating a dispute about the Festival's claim to tenancy. The Federal Government and the Bavarian state had made the release of 30 million euros for the repairs conditional upon the signature.

With the lease signed and no further obstacles in sight, the funding can now be released and the refurbishment can go ahead.

The work is expected to take several years, but will be paused each summer to allow the annual festival to go ahead.

21 February 2014

Her half-sister and co-chief Katharina Wagner is expected to carry on in charge, though it's not clear at this stage whether she would do so alone. Contract negotiations are ongoing.

Wagner-Pasquier's resignation was widely expected; a quiet and private individual, ill at ease in the spotlight, she will be 70 by the time of her departure. She has offered to stay on as a consultant.